When Designers Play Cupid: 18 of Our Favorite “Couple” Moments on the Runway

All the world loves a lover, so the saying goes, and it applies even in the sometimes cynical world of fashion where passions run deep and language is colored purple (e.g., “That look is to die!”). What does l’amour look like in the mode? Sometimes it’s suggested by a heart- or lip-print fabric. There was that time that Rihanna stepped out in a giant furry red valentine-shaped cape by Hedi Slimane. And let’s not forget the bride who traditionally closes couture shows.

Some designers have taken the idea further by enlisting couples—real-life or otherwise—to model their clothes. Such was the case at Opening Ceremony where, for Resort 2018, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon commissioned Brigitte Lacombe to photograph their friends, including actual sweethearts like Ryan McGinley and Marc Armitano Domingo, in looks from their new collection. Similarly Lucky Blue Smith and his then-girlfriend Stormi Bree walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana for Fall 2017. Sometimes, though, a simulacrum of love just has to do. If you can’t make it, fake it. Many a runway “couple” have only been “together” for the length of a show. Call it a one-walk stand.

In honor of Valentine’s Day we celebrate “togetherness”—in the broadest sense of the word—and look back at some of the times the runway has been used as a makeshift aisle.